Hang on in there DoctorRose reunion fiction
by BlueMoonOnTheRise
Summary: A story set after Doomsday, about the Doctor and Rose. How they cope in the monthes afterwards, and a reunion too. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1 & 2, Part 1

**_Part one: Grief_**

_**Chapter One**_

Rose sat there, her face in her hands, crying uncontrollably, huge sobs racking her body. He was gone. Gone. Just disappeared, just like that. Her Doctor. Forever.

"_Quite right. And I suppose…it's my last chance to say it…Rose Tyler-"_

Then, in front of her eyes, he'd disappeared. They had run out of time. Just the thought of what she'd come so close to having – the certainty that he loved her as she him – but had slipped away, cut through Rose like an icy knife. Fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks in a waterfall of misery. The van skidded down the uneven Norwegian road, winding its way home. But not to Rose. She only felt at home with the Doctor. Mickey had tried to comfort her, but she was totally inconsolable. She had lost the love of her life, and the wound ran deep and fresh. What wouldn't she give to be in his arms again, to feel his hot breath on her cheek, to slip her hand into his? Life was never going to be the same without him. Of course she could pretend it never happened, she could pretend she never met the strange man in Henrik's, was never attacked by dummies. She could pretend she never fell head over heels in love with him. Except she couldn't. It would have killed her to do it. He was as much a part of her as she him, and she couldn't ever forget him, no matter how much pain her memories brought her.

"Rose?" said a voice quietly in her ear, arousing her to her senses. Rose looked up into Jackie's concerned face. She knew she must look awful. Tears were still pouring down her face, however much she tried to stop. One person played on her mind – the Doctor. She saw him and her running, laughing. She could almost feel his hand in hers. She looked down, almost expecting him to be there, grinning, but saw only her own hand, which looked so empty. She sniffed, trying to force him out of her mind for half a second, and turned to face her mother.

"Yes?" she managed, still sobbing.

"Rose. Please calm down. You're gonna make yourself unwell." Jackie's own eyes were unusually bright too, out of sympathy and worry for her daughter. She had never seen her so distraught.

"I _can't_." Rose gulped "I loved him mum, and now he's gone. He never…he never got to, got to say…" Rose couldn't finish the sentence, but Jackie could guess. She didn't press her. Just put a comforting arm around her, as the van trundled off into Norway.

Three months later, Rose wasn't much better. She still cried herself to sleep every night, and had lost a lot of weight. She just wasn't hungry anymore. Nothing seemed to matter at the moment. She jumped every time someone mentioned the word "doctor" and just the sight of a banana made her feel ill. She remembered vividly the Doctor's obsession with them. Unfortunately, she still had to go to work. Every morning, Rose would drag herself out of bed in the morning, but her heart wasn't really in it. She felt like half of her was still in her world with the Doctor. She wished all of her was. Sitting there, now, staring blankly at a pile of reports on supposed alien sighting, Rose just wanted to go back to bed, and cry her eyes out over the Doctor, but she knew that was out of the question. She plucked unenthusiastically at the top paper, and read the title of it:

_UFO sighting, near Cambridge. _

Oh, sure, thought Rose. There was some fake UFO every week. Probably just some dustbin lid that's got blown away. Rose's heart ached for the real aliens, the real adventures…the real Doctor. She didn't want to be stuck in this stuffy building reading about student pranks. Before she'd met him, this place might've been bliss. But now, she'd rather be sat at home all day than this. As she imagined the Doctor's incredulous face if he could read some of these files, a single tear ran down her cheek. Before she knew it, the regular rivers of tears were once more pouring down her face. She needed the Doctor so bad.

Back in the other universe, the Doctor wasn't much better. His latest companion, Martha, was standing awkwardly on the other side of the room, watching him. He was poring over a picture in his hand. She couldn't see it clearly from here, but she could vaguely see a figure which could be him, and a blonde girl. It didn't take a genius to work out who the girl was. Martha knew it much be Rose. In spite of herself, she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy that he would never care about her like he did Rose. Rose was his everything, his reason for living. But her…she was just a friend. She wandered out of the room, and left him to it.

The Doctor stared longingly into the picture, as though wishing he could step inside it. It was of him and Rose, on the day they had defeated the Wire. Rose was holding his hand and laughing, her lovely blonde hair blowing about in the wind. Tommy was in the background, but the Doctor barely noticed him. All his attention was fixed on the young woman laughing by his side – forever. But they were apart. They could be in exactly the same place in their separate universes, but so, so far away. He remembered what she had said on the beach that day:

_I **love** you_

He had meant to tell her the same, that he loved her so much he would do anything for her, anything at all, just so he could have her, his Rose. She was his reason for living, she was why he carried on, she was the thing that stopped him going crazy over all the people he'd seen die. But now he'd lost her, too, and his hearts ached for her. A tear rolled down his cheek. His brushed it away, but another followed, and another. It was stupid, he knew, for letting himself fall in love with Rose in the first place, for letting himself get so attached to her. But he had, and she was so much a part of him now that he would never, ever forget her.

"Oh Rose." he whispered "I wish you were here. I love you, I _love _you. Why oh why did we have to be separated? I love you so much. Oh _Rose_"

He sniffed, and shook himself mentally. He had to get on with life, he had to. Rose was gone, like it or loathe it and she was never coming back. It stung though. The wound of Rose going was still raw and fresh, and just the thought that he would never see her again seared through him. It would have hurt less had he stuck a knife through his chest. He sighed. The Doctor was clever enough to realise that pushing Rose out of his mind would just cause more pain. He let her float to the forefront of his mind, and wandered through to the kitchen. Martha was sitting there quietly, eating. She looked up when he entered. The Doctor sat down and begun to eat, too. Martha surveyed him.

"You miss her." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Rose. I know you do. I can tell." The Doctor looked at his friend closely. She was a smart on, that one, he had been right. He felt his eyes fill with tears, and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I do." His voice cracked, and he turned away, not wanting Martha to see him upset. She had enough to cope with, poor kid. She didn't show it, but he knew how she must feel, being second – best to Rose. He was truly sorry; but couldn't change how he felt about Rose, and wouldn't if he could. All he wanted was Rose. Not money or control of the universe. Just one woman, in the whole world. Surely that wasn't too much to ask?

_**Chapter Two**_

Rose rubbed her eyes blearily, and stretched. Her whole bedroom swam into focus - the lava lamp glowing softly on her bedside table. The white curtains swaying in the breeze drifting in through her bedroom window, which she had forgotten to close the night before. But best of all was the little tattered photograph that hung limply on the wardrobe. Rose got up and took it down. She examined it, drinking in the Doctor's lovely features almost feeling the wind in her hair, and his hand clasped in hers. She knew he had a copy of the very same pictures, and was sure that he treasured it like she did hers. Swallowing, Rose re – blu tacked the picture onto the door. She collected her warm, fluffy pink towel, and carried it through to the bathroom.

About 15 minutes later, Rose emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed, water streaming from her fair hair. She bumped into her mother on the way back to her room, showering Jackie with water droplets.

"Oh hi mum…sorry" Rose tucked a few stray locks securely behind her ear, and tried to smile – she had almost forgotten how. She suddenly remembered the Doctor's own heart stopping grin which he used; the one which made her want to take him up against the nearest wall and snog him, but sadly she had never followed that impulse. She wished she had now. Jackie had clearly noticed the faraway dreamy look on Rose's face, and was slightly taken aback.

"You ok sweetheart? What you thinking about?"

"Oh…just stuff, you know…" Rose let her voice trail away, and walked back into her bedroom, clutching her towel to her chest. She grabbed a pile of files from her bedside table, and rushed down the stairs. She caught her foot on the second from last stair. Her ankle twisted, and a white hot pain shot through it as she landed, spread eagled on the carpet. Rose found that she had tears forming in her eyes, but it had nothing to do with the pain. She sat there on the floor, papers scattered everywhere. Rose scrambled to her feet to pick them up, but soon found that her ankle didn't support her weight. She groaned, as she crumpled onto the floor. A few tears crept silently down her cheeks. Rose wiped them away angrily, reaching for the nearest paper. She shoved it unceremoniously into the plastic file, and then stretched her fingers towards the next. Gradually, the mass of paper thinned. Rose wondered how long it would be until someone actually realised she was sitting on the floor, ankle sprained. She knew the Doctor would have realised within seconds, but then that was his thing. He noticed strange things, or if people were missing. It was then Rose realised why she was crying. It wasn't that her ankle was hurting – which it was, a _lot_ – but that the Doctor wasn't there to comfort her, to hold her, and to tell her that everything would be alright. But he wasn't, so Rose hauled herself onto her hands and knees, and crawled through to the kitchen, where Jackie was humming tunelessly. Her mother looked up as she entered on all fours.

"Rose! What _are _you doing down there?" Seeing Rose's slightly red eyes, Jackie stopped "Are you okay?" her voice, as it so often was these days, was full of concern.

"Yeah, fine." Rose lied " I'm just getting off to work, see ya later" She once more attempted to stand, but failed. "Oh, crap!" Rose muttered under her breath, feeling her eyes fill with tears again. She rubbed them furiously, determined not to start crying again in front of her mother. Jackie had enough to cope with, what with Rose's rowdy little sister, Gabby, she didn't need Rose herself crying on her again. Rose swallowed, and looked at her, trying to act like the tears were just because of the pain. She touched her ankle gingerly, and flinched. "I fell down the stairs." She admitted, sniffing. And I don' t know how I'm gonna get to work like this."

Because of her ankle, Rose arrived at work an hour late, to find her office empty. Soft music was playing in the background, and the perpetual drone of the computers filled the room as usual, but that aside, it was silent. With nothing else to do, Rose sat down, and listened to the music absent mindedly.

_So far away_

_I wish you were here_

_Before it's too late, this could all disappear_

_Before the doors close_

_And it comes to an end_

_With you by my side I will fight and defend_

Rose suddenly felt very sick. She jumped out of her seat and turned the music off. It reminded her too much of her own experiences for comfort. As Rose returned to her seat, breathing hard, she noticed a note tacked to her machine:

Rose: We've all gone to a meeting, room 311. Where were you this morning? See you later.

Mickey

It took Rose a couple of seconds to finish reading the note, and as soon as she had done so, she jumped out of her chair again as though scalded. A meeting…she had forgotten. There'd been so many things on her mind lately (namely the Doctor). Rose couldn't believe she had forgotten that. Perhaps the final real alien activity that had been going on since she came to this place, and she had to forget to go to the meeting discussing it. Sprinting down the corridor, Rose counted doors. 287, 301, 309…311. She burst inside, and looked around. All her colleagues were seated in a large circle, some official looking documents scattered on the tables between them. Every single person was staring at her.

"Sorry I'm late." She said, her cheeks flushing slightly pink. She slunk into a chair next to Mickey.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, just some alien has made its way into this universe, killing people, the usual. Wants to take over the universe probably." he caught Rose gaping at him "What?"

"An alien's made its way into **_this universe_**?" Rose repeated

"Yeah"

"Definitely? 'Cause that means there must be a gap…"

Rose paid little attention to the rest of the meeting. One thought ran through her grief ridden brain – _he can come back! _

_**Chapter 3**_


	2. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3.**_

The Doctor sighed, leaning heavily on the controls. Martha had just flounced out of the room after he had snapped at her, telling him that she didn't know what she ever saw in him, and wondering why she ever consented to travel with him. Even the Doctor himself was beginning to see her point. He had certainly _not _been a bunch of laughs lately, and he was often so preoccupied with thinking of Rose, that he was paying his latest companion less and less attention. It wasn't that he didn't like her - she was great - just that he liked Rose more. No, he loved Rose. No, he absolutely adored Rose, and found that he couldn't have refused her anything; one look at him with those grogeous brown eyes of hers, and he felt that he melted inside. Martha had noticed this, of course, and it was no surprise that he often saw a hint of jealously in her eyes. He had been contemplating for some time how to tell Martha that he only liked her as friend, and not more (they had never really discussed their relationship, and he didn't want his feelings for her confused). Just then, Martha herself walked in again.

"Where are going this time?" she asked, a trace of sulleness from their row earlier creeping into her voice "Just not somewhere you took Rose, OK? I don't want to spend another hour of you agonising over your lost love: she's gone, get over it." Martha's spoke lightly, but her words stung all the same. _He agonised over his lost love, _did he? Well, he'd see about that. And Rose would never be gone, not as long as she stayed in his heart. They were made for each other, and no medical student was going to insult her - even if she was his companion.

"I don't" he told her, through clenched teeth "And will you please stop going on about it, it hurts. You don't know what it's like to lose someone you...you care about" Martha shrugged, and walked towards the door. He snarled angrily, and followed.

"You can't go out there!"

"Why not?"she retorted angrily, flaring up at once.

"Because we're in the middle of outer space. You step outside those doors, I'll never see you again. Never. That'll be two friends in three years, gone. But if you don't believe me, fine, go ahead." he waited for Martha to storm out at once, sceptical.He could almost hear her surprised shriek as she lost her footing, and disappeared into space forever. Well, at the moment, it wouldn't be much of a loss. She wasn't half getting on his nerves right now. He stood there with her, both silent, her glaring, him twiddling his thumbs absent- mindedly. The Doctor's mind wondered to one of the adventures he had shared with Rose. He remembered the apple grass, and heard Rose's voice in his head.

_Can I just say...travelling with you - I love it_

Finally Martha spoke, her voice quiet, verging on the edge of an emotion the Doctor couldn't quite place - was it sadness, love, hope, misery?

"But Rose wasn't just a friend, was she?" Martha said, her voice low and deadly. "She was much more,I _know_ Doctor." The Doctor sighed, preparing himself for a massive row. He had only endured one of these against Martha so far (he had won) but he had no desire to repeat the experience. It had involved them standing on opposite sides of the control room, bawling their heads off at eachother, while the poor TARDIS tried in vein to keep the peace. That particular row had been because the Doctor had failed to take her back to her family for Christmas, when he had promised he would three weeks previously. Although, as he shouted at her from accross the room, it was hardly his fault that the Tanggryihj had decided to attack at that particular moment.

All in all, despite her courage and wit and cleverness, the Doctor was getting increasingly annoyed with his latest companion. She didn't seem to really understand that he was missing Rose terribly, and that it was breaking both his hearts into tiny pieces not to be seeing her every day. She kept bringing up the subject, and every so often dropping hints that she would make a much better and reliable love interest than Rose, that she was gone anyway, so GET OVER IT!!! The Doctor had an answer to that one though - if she was so sick of him going on about Rose, then why didn't she leave? Martha had glared at him for a moment, and started talking about the weather. For such a bright girl, she could be so stupid.

The Doctor was aroused from his reveree by a violent jerk from the TARDIS. His head collided painfully with the wall, and blinking the white lights out of his eyes he staggerd towards the console. He reached the monitor, and clung onto the controls gratefully

_What was that for, old girl? _he asked his ship resentfully, rubbing his bruised head, and frowning, his eyebrows nearly joining in the middle. The TARDIS didn't reply, just clunked in a satisfied sort of way. The Doctor glanced at the monitor, to see that a picture had flashed up on the screen. They were in the middle of space, and the velvety backness seemed to stretch out forever. But then he saw a light emerge from the folds of the night, about the size of a pinhead. The light gradually evolved into what was unmistakeably a black hole. And they were heading straight for it...

"No!" he shouted out loud, flinging himself at the controls, and randomly pressing buttons, and pulling levers "No, no, no!!!" But then he stopped. He remembered what he had forgotten. He let the hole grow nearer and nearer. Black holes...of course - they were a door to another universe!


	3. Chapter 4

**Hey, I haven't really put a comment before any of my chapters before have I? Oh well, gotta start somewhere. I hope someone is actually reading this, and if you are please please please review, tell me if ya like it . Yeah, um with all the crying and that, hope you're not getting sick of it, but I PROMISE that it's not gonna be like this all the way through, and Rose is gonna cheer up. Hope you like this chapter, 'cause I do!**

_**Chapter 4.**_

"Yeah, you're right." Rose finally admitted "I gotta sort myself out" She looked at herself in the tall mirror in her wardrobe door. "Blimey I look a mess. What would he think if he could see me now?" Rose scratched her head absent-mindedly, finally realising what losing the Doctor had made her do to herself. She had huge black rings around her eyes, and she saw that she was actually quite skinny. She had never in her life been fat, but nor had she been skinny. Now she looked bloody _anorexic. _When she had been about 15, she might have liked it – she and her mates went through a phase of being incredibly conscious of their weight – but now…no. She knew the Doctor wouldn't want her to starve herself because of him. Not that she had been doing it deliberately.

"He probably couldn't care less what you looked like." Jackie told her firmly "Just being able to see you would be good enough for him." Rose had to give her that one. It was true, after all.

"Yeah, alright." she admitted, chivvying her mother out of her room, so she could get dressed in peace.

Of course, despite Rose's new resolution to not let the Doctor's sudden disappearance from her life affect her physically, she still thought about him almost all the time. Her head was constantly filled with the image of him, and the picture of them together was getting significantly dog – eared as she carried it everywhere. As she pulled her T-shirt on over her head, Rose wondered vaguely what she and the Doctor might be doing if they were still together. Probably fighting some alien on some far fetched planet. Or defending the earth. Hang on – defending the earth? – it sounded familiar.

_Rose Tyler, defender of the universe_

It was one of the things the Doctor had said before he left. And his voice; it had sounded so proud, full of admiration that she was going to carry on doing what she did best, not just give up. But she had failed him. She had not put her heart into her work at Torchwood, she had not done her best for him. She had dwelled on her own sorrow, wallowed in misery. Rose collapsed on the bed, face in her hands. She had never failed him before. Her body shook with silent sobs, as the sun rose high in the sky, and the whole of London bustled beneath her.

The Doctor twiddled his thumbs, both hearts beating violently, trying not to jump into the air, and shout and scream with joy. He couldn't keep a huge grin off his lips though, as the black hole loomed ever closer, closer. To him, that black hole meant everything at the moment. His future lay through it, his happiness…his _Rose._ Just the thought of her made both hearts beat faster. What he had wanted for the past year or so, speeding closer, closer. He could almost feel her hands slipping through his again, her tight in his arms again, how it should be. Her laughter and life filling the TARDIS again. The TARDIS could have been jam packed with people, but without Rose, it seemed to him to be empty. But none of that mattered any more. Because any minute now…_any minute_ he would be seeing her again.

"Rose Tyler; here I come!" the Doctor shouted across the TARDIS, his hearts leaping with joy and love.

Jackie walked heavily down the stairs; Lillie balanced precariously on her hip, giggling. When she reached the second floor landing, Jackie let her youngest daughter down, and went back up to check on Rose. If that girl didn't get a move on, she was going to be late again. She hurried along the landing, and knocked softly on Rose's door. There was no answer. Jackie listened intently, and could hear a quiet sobbing through the door. She sighed, and eased the door open. Her Rose was flung on her bed, crying into her pillow. Even though she was making a bit of a habit of it at the moment, it still hurt Jackie dreadfully to see her little girl so broken. Rose looked up when she entered

"I failed him." Rose cried, flinging herself on her shoulder, nearly knocking Jackie over. "I failed him, mum; he wanted me to work hard, to carry on defending the universe like we always did, but…" Rose let out a huge sob, as a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks "…I didn't, I was too upset. Oh _mum!_"

Jackie comforted her daughter as best she could, and managed to calm her down enough to get her to work on time. She didn't like it though. She knew she should have never let Rose travel with the Doctor. She should have made her stay at home, before Rose had fallen in love with him. But then, thought Jackie, she would have hated me. She'd got a taste for adventure, and had wanted more. The Doctor was the only way to get that…besides, Rose would have found a way to get back to him without permission. She was like that. Very confused, head pounding, Jackie followed Lillie's screams to her new bedroom.

At Torchwood, no one knew quite what had come over Rose Marion Tyler, the girl who had appeared out of no where one day, and started work. Of course, there had been speculations about her. Was she human? Where did she come from? And how could she be Pete Tyler's daughter, when he'd never had children? As of yet, no one had managed to answer any of those questions, but there was one thing about her that everyone was sure of – she had lost someone. Rose, ever since she had begun at Torchwood, had never before gone a day without crying, and constantly jumped at totally insignificant things. She was odd, alright. She was also not a very hard worker. Most people at Torchwood put their heart and soul into the job…but not Rose. Her mind was always somewhere else, she always had that faraway look on her face. And she constantly kept that tattered photo with her everywhere she went. It was common knowledge what was on it. Her, and a brown haired man that no one had ever seen before. Most people presumed he must be her boyfriend, or a close family member, whom she had lost.

But today, you wouldn't think she was the same person. She turned out twice the amount of work as anyone else that day, and it was Rose who volunteered first to go on the trip to investigate the alien activity, Rose who discovered a new Dalek plot to destroy the world, Rose who got incredibly, incredibly excited about a new black hole they had discovered. It was Jeremy who decided to ask her about her sudden change of personality – he had always been rather fond of Miss Tyler.

"Rose." He said, running to catch up with her as she walked down the corridor "Rose, what's changed?"

Rose looked at him, and grinned.

"Oh you know: this and that. I figured I hadn't been working hard enough lately so…" She trailed off, marching down the corridor, head up high, homeward bound. It was the happiest she had felt for months. She was doing her bit for the world again, not sitting at home and crying. Jeremy gaped after her. That was not the Rose Tyler he was used to. Not at all…

**:p please review. Thankyou**


	4. Chapter 5

**Thankyou sooooooooooooo much for all your reviews, you're all so nice :D. I'm sorry I haven't updated for ages but I haven't really been allowed on the computer much during the easter holidays :'(. I think I've been a little unfair on Martha's niceness in my story. So, if you notice Martha suddenly having a complete personality change in this, you'll know why :D Hope you like this chapter, it's my fave :) **

**Part 2: Reunion**

Rose watched from a distance as the TARDIS materialised about 100 yards from where she was standing. It stopped moving. Rose's heart beat faster and faster, her head filled with one thought: I'm gonna see him again!!! She held her breath as the door creaked slowly open, and someone stepped out, looking around. But he didn't look at Rose. He didn't see her. She stood there, stunned, as a girl followed him out of the TARDIS. She seemed about Rose's age, although Rose couldn't make out her face yet. She was talking and laughing with him, and with a pang of horror, Rose realised they were _holding hands._ She gasped. She could hear screaming, felt tears rush down her face as he walked away…

Rose Tyler jerked awake, screaming, tears pouring down her face, drenched in sweat. She fumbled in the dark for her lamp, and sat up, shaking. She wiped her eyes, and took a long, steadying breath. _Just a dream_ she told herself, still trembling uncontrollably. But it had seemed so real. Rose gave herself a mental shake, she was being stupid. She'd had nightmares about the Doctor finding someone else since she'd left him. It was just another one of those. She lay back down. It was three o' clock in the morning. Trying to evict the dream from her tired brain, Rose rolled over, and closed her eyes.

Four hours later, a loud tapping could be heard, and Rose groaned, not wanting to get up. Sighing, she rolled out of bed, and reluctantly reached for her wardrobe door.

Before long, Rose was dashing out of the front door with Mickey and Pete, hugging her mother and little sister, and jumping into their van. Jackie watched it out of sight. Since yesterday she had noticed that Rose had seemed…not exactly happy…but had sort of a determined optimism around her, which Jackie hadn't seen in her since the Doctor left. Sometimes Jackie actually wondered if she'd actually found him again without telling her, but there were still those times when she was so upset…Jackie sighed, and walked back inside, wondering.

The van drew up outside canary wharf within ten minutes. Rose jumped out immediately, and rushed off. This was so unlike her Mickey and Pete stared after her. She usually spent about ten minutes debating whether or not she felt bad enough to merit a day off. Usually Mickey would manage to persuade her that she'd be ok, but on particularly bad days, they let her go home. But now…

"What's got into her?" Mickey asked "She's so…I mean yesterday, for example, she signed up for this investigation thing. She normally avoids stuff like that. You don't suppose it's got something to do with _him_ do you?" Pete shook his head, still in shock.

"I really don't know." He said, before following Rose's lead, and heading towards the building. Mickey followed a few metres behind, still utterly bemused.

"Anne, hurry _up._" Rose urged, hovering impatiently at her colleague's shoulder. Anne was packing a rucksack full of equipment, and in Rose's opinion, taking a ridiculously long time. She was sure someone like the Doctor could do that in a nano second. Anne grumbled.

"Gimme a chance." She told Rose angrily, scowling. "You only had a couple of things." It was Rose's turn to scowl then. She glared at the older woman, tapping a boot on the floor impatiently.

"Not my fault. Just 'cause you're more _senior_ and _advanced_. Bet I've seen way more aliens and stuff than you anyway."

Anne raised her eyebrows expressively in a way which clearly meant _oh sure._ Rose raised hers back.

"No, really." she told her "Used to travel with this guy, we used to do stuff like that – aliens, I mean" Rose looked at Anne. She had completely stopped packing the bag, and was gaping at Rose.

"You're one of his…his companions, weren't you?" she said, her voice shaking with shock

"What?"

"The Doctor, you're one of his friends he travels with." Rose gaped at her

"How…?"

Anne shrugged and went back to the bag. Rose squatted down next to her, and handed her a handful of multicoloured wires twisted together. Anne moved to take them, but Rose held on.

"Do you know him?" she asked

"No!" Anne said, yanking the wires from Rose's grip. "We did a bit about him at work, a while back, that's all"

Rose sat back, disappointed, heaved her own (much lighter) rucksack over her shoulders, and stalked out the room to join Matthew, Gareth, and Adrian.

"Remind me." Rose said, as she followed Gareth up a huge hill "Why we are trekking up this massive hill with heavy rucksacks, on a boiling hot day." Gareth twisted round to look at Rose, eyebrows raised.

"Tyler, this is where all the alien activity is going on." he sneered "Don't tell me you…"

"SHUT UP!" Rose yelled suddenly, stopping in her tracks, straining her ears. She was so sure she had heard…she listened again. Maybe she had imagined it. Rose turned to the rest of the crew, who were all looking at her with bemused expressions on their faces, and was about to tell them not to worry about it, when she heard it again. That rasping, scraping, sucking noise which she loved so much. The sound of an approaching TARDIS. Rose felt like jumping in the air and whooping, and she felt the first real smile she had worn in months spreading across her face.

"It's him, it's him!!!" she yelled excitedly, staring around, looking for the materializing blue box which over the years she had grown to know so, so well. And there it was. The TARDIS, sitting there in the mid morning sun, gleaming (well almost). She ran towards it. Gareth was about to go after her, when Anne laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait." she told him "This means a lot to Rose."

The Doctor stepped out. He was still exactly the same as he had been when he had left her on Bad Wolf bay, although just a little more…as though he was missing something, something important. He looked around him, and the first thing he saw was Rose, running towards him, half blinded by tears. He swept her up in his arms, holding her tight, as though he would never let go. He felt her tears soaking through his shirt, her breath tickling his cheek. She held him tight, too, and they stood there, both clinging onto the other as though they would disappear if they let go. Finally though, he managed to put her down, and she him, and they looked at each other. The Doctor saw her standing there, his Rose, so happy to see him, and he knew what he needed to say, more than anything else.

"Rose." he begun, cupping her face in his hands, so she had to look at him (not that she didn't want to anyway) "Rose Tyler…I love you."

She gazed adoringly into his face, beaming through her tears.

"I love you." She repeated "Oh Doctor, I love you, I love you!" The Doctor grinned at her, so, so pleased she still felt the same. But before either of them had time to think, their mouths had met and they were kissing the other with more passion than they ever even knew existed. Martha meandered out of the TARDIS at that point, and looked around.

"Doctor, where…?" she began. But then she stopped. She had noticed the couple standing a few metres away from her, snogging. She gaped at them. She knew who the girl must be. Rose. And suddenly, she didn't feel jealous of her anymore, but happy. This was the first time she had seen the Doctor truly happy and relaxed since she had met him. "That's certainly not nothing." Martha remarked under her breath, remembering what the Doctor had said to her when he had kissed her. She watched as they drew apart, smiling into each others faces. Rose opened her mouth to say something, when a harsh voice broke the silence.

"Theta!!"

The Doctor stumbled backwards, white with shock.

"Dad?" he spluttered

**Yay, hope ya liked it. I'll try to update a bit quicker next time…if I'm actually allowed on the computer! Anyway, please review.**


	5. Chapter 6

**Another chapter!!! Who saw Gridlock? You're not alone…what does it mean? Personally I want it to have something to do wiv Rose, but that's just me. Oooh, a human Dalek! Different...**

Rose looked sideways at the Doctor, who was looking stunned. His face was a mixture of emotions: joy, sadness, shock, and apprehension radiated from his handsome features. He was just standing there, just staring and staring at the man struggling up the hill towards him. Rose hovered uncertainly beside him, unsure of what to do. Possibly the Doctor might want to do this on his own? She moved gradually backwards, towards the black girl also hovering a bit uncertainly by the TARDIS doors.

"Hi," she said, keeping half an eye on the Doctor "I'm Rose."

"I guessed," the girl admitted, grinning "Martha Jones." she added, seeing Rose open her mouth to ask something. Rose smiled.

"How do you know me?"

"Honestly, Rose, the amount he goes on about you…you couldn't really be anyone else; I mean, for him to be that pleased to see you." she paused, glancing over at the Doctor, and the man who had now made his way up the hill. "Who's he?" Rose opened her mouth to reply, but was cut short by Gareth's voice, echoing up the hill towards her.

"Oi! Tyler! Can we come up yet, or are we all gonna stand around here all day?"

Rose sighed. She rolled her eyes at Martha, smiled reassuringly at the Doctor, who had turned when he heard the shout, looking concerned, and made her way down to her annoying co – worker. He was sweating in the hot and humid summer air, and in Rose's opinion, was looking even worse than usual (of course, comparing blokes to the Doctor wasn't really fair, as he was the most gorgeous guy on the whole planet – make that whole universe). Gareth's greasy blonde hair was sticking to his head, and she could see sweat visibly dripping down his fat face. Trying not to grimace too openly, Rose made her way over to him.

"What?" she asked shortly. Gareth opened his mouth to speak, but was cut short by the Doctor, who had sneaked up behind them with Martha.

"Rose," he said, giving her one of his trademark grins, making her melt inside "Much as I'm sure this conversation is _fascinating…_" (Rose did her best not to snort) "I'm sure Gareth here won't mind me borrowing you for a second – someone I'd like you to meet." He smiled, and held out a hand. Rose took it gratefully; she had forgotten how great it was to have her hand in his. He pulled her gently away from the gaggle of Torchwood staff, Martha just ahead of them. Rose kept shooting sideways glances at him, almost as if to check he was still there. She noticed him doing the same.

"Now," said the Doctor, as they reached the peak of the hill. The man was standing a few feet away. He had long ginger hair and beard, and was dressed normally – jeans and a T-shirt – but somehow they looked so alien on him. Almost wild. "This; Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, is, in fact, my father." He grinned at them, like a puppy expecting applause for fetching a stick. Rose and Martha gaped at him.

"But, Doctor…"

"You said…"

"But Doctor," Rose began again "you're the last Timelord…aren't you?" The Doctor smiled wryly.

"Yes…or so I thought." He looked at the two young women gazing up at him. He felt his eyes sting, and blinked furiously "But he survived too…my dad" he gave a small smile "c'mon"

The Doctor led them over to him. Rose all of a sudden felt incredibly shy. It was funny, how comfortable she had always felt around the Doctor, but him…this was new. It struck her that she had never thought about how the Doctor felt about going to see _her_ parents. Maybe he knew they were important to her, so that was how he put up with it? She didn't know. However, she swallowed her apprehension, and smiled at him.

"Rose Tyler," she said, stepping forwards slightly, giving a small smile "nice to meet you."

The other Timelord opened his mouth, perhaps to reply to her, but never got the chance. A largish metal _something_ came whizzing overhead, shouting in a grating, metallic, murderous, voice. The Doctor pulled Rose and Martha away from it.

"THE ONCOMING STORM!" the voice shouted "HE IS BACK!"

And then it was gone. The four of them stood up, shaking slightly.

"Sec?" said Rose, looking quizzically at the Doctor. "I thought…"

"He escaped." The Doctor said bitterly "Not the first time I've bumped into him recently either." He looked at Rose "You okay?"

"Yeah."

Everyone hurried into the TARDIS. The arrival of the Dalek had done one good thing – it had distracted the Torchwood staff long enough for Rose to get into the TARDIS. For a moment, they all stood there in the control room, looking at each other.

"I _love_ this place!" Rose said finally, breaking the silence, and positively beaming at the Doctor. He grinned happily back. Martha mumbled something indistinct about needing to tidy her room, and disappeared. Jeod (that's the Doctor's dad's name) followed her soon after, wanting to look around. The Doctor knew neither of them really wanted to do what they said, they were just giving him a bit of time with Rose, for which he was very grateful. She was the one who spoke first. She walked over to him, and took his hand in hers.

"Doctor, I'm scared," she said, her voice very small "I'm not scared of Sec or anything, or any of the rest of the Cult of Skaro, if they're with him. I'm scared of losing you again." She looked up at him with those gorgeous brown eyes of hers.

"I know." he agreed, holding her close. They stood there for a while, just hugging each other, relishing the fact that they were together again, but knowing that they could so easily be separated again – maybe this time forever.

"You know," the Doctor said, after a while, letting go of her and sitting down "don't be too surprised if my dad doesn't like, you know, take to you at once."

"Okay…why?"

"'Cause – well maybe you've noticed – I don't tend to stick to rules much. _(Rose laughed)_ And you see, humans and timelords; we were never supposed to mix or interact or anything. Technically, I should have let the Autons kill you, I should have left Martha and her hospital on the moon, let them run out of oxygen, and die. But I've always liked humans, so I don't care what species you are or anything. But dad…he always liked to stick to the rules. And you being human, and kissing me at the time he first saw you – well…that's not really allowed." Rose nodded.

At around fiveish that evening, the Doctor and Rose set out for Jackie's. Rose had insisted upon this, because she knew Jackie would be hysterical otherwise, thinking Rose's depression had finally got the better of her, and she'd committed suicide or something. The Doctor, although not entirely sure this was a good idea or not, followed her out of the TARDIS. She positively beamed at him, then reached over, and snogged him passionately. When she let go, he was (for once) speechless. She grinned, took his hand, and led him down the hill. The Doctor was looking around.

"Not that different to our London," he remarked, twisting round to look back the way he had come "Although…"he admitted "They don't have that _fantastic_ chip shop in this world. Shame." Rose grinned. She loved how he could babble on forever, about absolutely anything. She put a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"It's over there." she said, pointing, then taking his hand once more.

"They moved it! How dare they move it!" he looked at Rose "We used to go in there, remember? After we just first met Cassandra. And Jabe. And Boe, remember him, Rose? He's dead, now though…" Rose looked at him, and he saw her eyes go slightly brighter than normal.

"Dead?"

"Yeah. He said to me, before he died: _you are not alone._"

Rose looked at him, and nodded. He could see a kind of hopefulness in those lovely brown eyes of hers.

"And I think he meant you." The Doctor smiled at her. She beamed up at him. "'Cause when he told me, I had Martha, but I may as well have been alone. Just felt horribly empty. And whatever he meant, I love you so…"

He took her face in his hands, and kissed her lovingly and slowly and gently. When they grudgingly broke it, they carried on walking, although both would have preferred to stay where they were. And so the journey went on. There were frequent stops, mostly for kisses and hugs, although occasionally the Doctor would spot a shop he'd never seen in the other London, and would drag Rose along (who had been in all of them on countless other occasions). At one point, a group of very attractive young men passed them, all staring openly at Rose. The Doctor wound his hand round her waist and pulled her even closer than they already were at this point. Rose followed his eyes, and when she saw who he was glaring at, she laughed.

"You don't have to worry about _them_." she told him, kissing him "They may look good, but they have no brains whatsoever. Seriously. And most of them have got about sixty girlfriends stashed away at home anyway."

The Doctor wasn't convinced. He continued his possessiveness until the boys were round the corner.

"Besides," she continued, grinning "I'm not gonna spend about a year crying over you, then soon as you come back, run off with one of them!"

Finally, their journey, which should have taken ten minutes (It actually took about an hour) came to an end. They walked up the Tyler's drive, gravel crunching beneath their feet.

"I have this sneaking suspicion," the Doctor told her, as she fished her key out her jeans pocket "Jackie isn't going to be too pleased to see me."

How very right he was.

**Awww poor Doctor. The next chapter WILL include the famous Jackie Tyler slap (yay!) Please, please, please REVIEW!!!! Naomi. :D**


	6. Chapter 7

**Quite a short one, this one. Thankyou so much to all people who reviewed, please keep doing so :)**

The door swung open, and Rose pocketed her key.

"C'mon." she said to the Doctor, who was dithering on the doorstep. He hesitated, then followed her. As the door swung shut behind him, he had the horrible feeling he was trapped. No matter how many monsters he battled, there was no one quite as formidable as Jackie Tyler. Rose called out to her, and the Doctor had a sudden urge to clap a hand over her mouth. He resisted the temptation, and snogged her instead. Possibly not his best idea, as Jackie emerged from the lounge and came down the hallway at that moment. What was it with parents, and turning up when he was kissing Rose? Couldn't they give them a break? She didn't take him in at first. Then, suddenly, the scene hit her. There was Rose, standing in the hallway, kissing someone. For a nano second she was taken aback, until she recognised him. She exploded.

"DOCTOR!!!" she yelled. Rose, probably feeling he could do with a bit of support at the moment, took his hand again.

"Mum, it's ok!" she said

"It is bloody well not ok!" Jackie shouted, quite beside herself with rage. She turned to the Doctor. "You leave my daughter crying her heart out on some beach in _Norway_, then come waltzing back, and expect me to think it's OK?!! She's been broken hearted for the past year; I've only see her smile once! IT IS NOT OK!!!"

Slap! The Doctor felt Rose wince as she slapped him hard across the face, with the sound of a whip crack.

"Ow!" he yelled. He turned to Rose: "They've gotten harder since she last hit me." He got another slap for that.

"Mum!" Rose said "There was nothing he could do about it, okay?"

Jackie opened her mouth like she was going to say something else, but then decided against it.

"Well…alright then. You two had better come in." She disappeared again. Rose ran straight over to the Doctor, and cupped his burning cheek in her hands.

"You okay?"

"Been better." he admitted, sighing. "Your mother hasn't half got a good slap on her!" Rose grinned, pleased he was okay. He had just leaned forward to kiss her; their mouths were centimetres apart; when Jackie reappeared.

"Come _on_" she insisted. As she turned her back, the Doctor and Rose shared one last lingering kiss, before following her through the house.

Dinner was, to say the least, an interesting affair. The whole _holding- hands- under- the- table _thing certainly contributed to this. Although the Doctor swore blind, that as a timelord, he could do everything equally well with either hand, he wasn't showing it particularly well at the moment. Rose found this quite funny, but it irritated everyone else. Jackie kept throwing him nasty looks across the table, and Pete had to work hard to conceal his annoyance.

"Do you want your hand back?" Rose asked after a while, after a particularly vicious look from her mother aimed in his direction. He looked at her.

"Not really." He admitted, smiling widely "But if you _really _want…"

She smiled at him, and he melted.

"Oh alright." he said and let go. After that, Jackie seemed reasonably happy, and the tense silence slackened. Even the Doctor had to admit it was better.

"How did you get through?" asked Pete, looking at the Doctor, intrigued "The void – it's not open again is it?"

"Nope" the Doctor said, and Pete breathed a sigh of relief. Then the Doctor turned to Rose. "You were the one who gave me the idea." he told her "Remember when we were on that planet – Krop Tor – the one that orbited the black hole? And you said…"

"Black holes are a gateway to another universe!" She said, beaming

"Precisely!" he said, nearly kissing her again, but then remembered Jackie was there. Oh well. Time for that later.


	7. Chapter 8

**This is a bit of an odd inbetween-y chapter I'm afraid. I apologise if the bits to do with Daleks is muddly, but I'm not so strong on the action part of a story, that's the weakest part of my plots. Anyway, hope you like it, and thankyou to all reviewers, particularly the advice, much appreciated, and I will try to use it :)**

Rose stretched and yawned, and rolled over in bed to look at the little alarm clock perched on her beside table. It was seven o clock in the morning. She wrinkled her nose in disgust – much too early. Even so, she wasn't going to get any more sleep now. She could hear the Doctor's voice just down the corridor in the kitchen, chatting animatedly with Martha. She rolled out of bed and began to dress.

About twenty minutes later, she walked into the kitchen, still yawning. The Doctor looked up as she came in.

"What kept you?" he asked

"What kept me?" she repeated incredulously "What are you two doing up at this time in the morning! It's the crack of dawn!" The Doctor raised his eyebrows theatrically.

"It's not that early." he said, pulling out a chair for her. She sat down gratefully.

"You can tell you haven't been travelling with me lately." she remarked "You know full well I _never _get up before eight at the earliest. Just because you're a complete crazy nutter…"

Martha laughed. The Doctor gave them both a mock hurt look and got up from the table. He walked through to the control room. Rose followed.

"Hey, you're not upset are you?" she asked him, trying not to smile.

"Nope." he told her, turning and kissing her on the top of the head. "I gotta tell you two something." He spun around to face them both, looking graver than usual, so much so that Rose thought someone must have died. "You'll both remember Sec, yeah?" without waiting for an answer, he ploughed on "Well he's back – back in his normal Dalek form, not the octopus human one. Thing is, he's after…"

"You?" Rose interjected

"Yes and no. He's after you and Martha. Basically, he captures you guys, and he knows I'll do anything to get you back. Then, they've got all of us. You'll remember, Martha, the human Daleks? He's trying to do that again. You and Rose are probably the two humans with the most knowledge that is relevant to them – aliens and stuff. So he's gonna turn us all into Daleks…unless we stop him."

"Which we are going to – right?" Martha said

"Try, anyway," the Doctor answered. "The best way would be to suck him into the void, but I'm not risking that again. Besides, we'd have to open it first – which might let all the cybermen out, and then there'd be big trouble."

"Well it's a risk we're just going to have to take." Rose told him stubbornly, that determined look which he loved etched all over her face. "I'm not letting him get away with it."

"Rose, last time, you nearly got killed!"

"So what?!" she said "Doctor, I'm not letting Daleks take over just to save my own skin! If I die, then fine, because everyone else will be safe. That's one life gone, compared to 6 billion others!"

"Rose, I'm not losing you again!" They both seemed to have forgotten there was another person in the room. Martha drew back slightly, wandering back into the silence of the kitchen. Rose glared at the Doctor. He just looked at her wordlessly. Finally, Rose broke the silence.

"Doctor," she said "I love you, but I'm not letting the Daleks kill everyone, just so we can stay together." She walked away silently. As he watched her go, he knew she was right. Since he'd found Rose again, he'd been a bit lovesick, and that was blinding his judgement.

_Enjoy having her around, love her to pieces, but do what's right for everyone, and not just you two. _The TARDIS told him, in his head.

_Thanks old girl. I'll try._

The TARDIS door banged open. Mickey burst in, looking frantically around the empty control room.

"Rose!" he yelled, his voice resounding around the room, echoing off the walls. It was Martha who heard his shout, and hurried towards the console room – she had been coming down the corridor anyway. She rounded the corner, and Mickey smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Er – do you know where Rose is?" he asked awkwardly "Or the Doctor?"

"No," Martha said, grinning "It's a big place, this. Who are you, anyway?"

"Mickey Smith."

"Martha Jones." she told him, holding out a hand to him. He took it and they shook hands. Then she stepped back. "I'll go look," she told him "Back in a mo." And she disappeared. Mickey stood there, shuffling from foot to foot. Why hadn't Rose told him? She should have known he would have liked to see the Doctor again – not even a fraction as much as her – but he would have liked to see him. Besides, they were like brother and sister now. They were supposed to tell each other things like that. He wandered over to a chair, and sat down

Rose appeared about five minutes later, Martha Jones slightly ahead of her. He jumped up when he saw her, and hugged her.

"Rose!" he said "Why didn't you _tell_ me he was back?" Rose smiled a bit guiltily.

"I was just so pleased to see him." She said simply

"So you forgot me? You always forget me when he's around, always!"

Rose didn't say anything. She knew it was true, and felt guilty for it. She didn't try to forget her friend, but the Doctor was so much more…so much more. When she had met the Doctor, she had never imagined in her wildest dreams they would be where they were now. She hadn't meant to fall head over heels in love with him, leaving her old boyfriend with no one. But there was no escaping the simple truth, she did always forget Mickey.

"I'm sorry." She said.

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD**


	8. Chapter 9

**Last chapter was a HUGE achievement for me – a whole 1031 words without the Doctor and Rose snogging!!!! (It probably won't happen again, I tend to put it in every other word) Anyway, sorry this has been a long wait, but here it is: chapter 9. I will warn you, it is heartbreaking.**

"Mickey boy!" said the Doctor jovially, bounding into the room, and automatically winding a hand around Rose's middle, as he always did now when other guys were around. She gave him a glowing smile, which he returned. They stood there staring adoringly at each other for a while, Rose's head rested on his shoulder, her hair surrounding her head like an angel. He kissed her gently (there you go, I spoiled my record already) and she turned to face him, letting her tongue trace the familiar path around his mouth, feeling his arms wrap around her, holding her close. Both of them had completely forgotten that anyone else was in the room. When they finally broke it, the Doctor looked around.

"So…where were we?" he said, trying to remember "Ah! Mickey! Nice to see you!" he grinned, and Mickey reluctantly returned the gesture. He and Rose might not be together anymore, but he still found it hard to be nice to a guy who had just snogged her like that. He contented himself with turning to Martha, who was looking at him strangely.

"What?"

She shook her head.

"I dunno…it's just:- you remind me of someone, someone I used to know. I dunno…" she trailed off, still staring at him incessantly. Then she shook her head again. "Don't worry. Just me being stupid"

The Doctor looked at Martha, interested, but she turned away from him, murmuring something to herself.

"I'm going out." She told him, heading for the door. The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Rose laid a hand on his shoulder, making him freeze.

"Let her." She said. He looked surprised, but merely shrugged as the door snapped shut behind Martha. Mickey was left standing there, looking oddly out of place. Rose smiled at him.

"How've Torchwood taken my running off then?" she asked, trying to make conversation, because the TARDIS seemed unnaturally silent. Mickey shrugged non – commitedly.

"Pete'll clear it all up." He said simply, before turning and following Martha out of the TARDIS. It seemed that she had waited for him, because as the door closed, they could hear voices, and then retreating footsteps. The Doctor looked at Rose, trying (and failing) not to grin.

"What is it with everyone?" he said, his grin fading. "Everyone's running off."

"Dunno," Rose said, walking over to the centre of the room and sitting down. He followed. "I'm more worried about this Dalek business than Mickey and Martha running off together." She sighed. "What are we going to do?"

"Well first of all, we've gotta find where they're based," said a voice from behind them. Both the Doctor and Rose whipped around. Jeod was standing at one of the doors around the control room, leaning against the frame. Rose noted that it was the first time he had ever spoken to her, and felt heartened. It was a start. He had been avoiding both her and Martha.

"Torchwood," she concluded. "Gotta be."

"Well they do have an uncanny knack of mucking everything up," the Doctor agreed "I'd be prepared to bet quite a lot that they'd actually _let_ Daleks settle there; just to see what they'd do. If it's alien, it's ours, remember?"

"Vividly," Rose told him grimly.

"Well try Torchwood then." Jeod told them "I won't come with you; my own TARDIS needs some repairs before she can move. We crashed here, you know."

_What is it with us, and crashing into this particular universe?_ The TARDIS asked, in their heads

_Dunno_

_Maybe it's just bad driving. _The TARDIS concluded; making Rose snort with laughter.

About fifteen minutes later, the Doctor and Rose were walking towards Canary Wharf, holding hands again, and talking about anything they could think of. The Doctor had just commented how long this journey was taking, and how they should have taken the TARDIS (Rose had dissuaded him from this idea, because she knew Torchwood would detect them quicker than blinking) when they ran into Martha and Mickey. The Doctor dimly noted that they too were holding hands. He blinked, and they had separated. Maybe it had been his imagination.

"Hey!" said Rose, waving. "Where you guys going?" Mickey shrugged.

"No where, really – you?"

"Torchwood," Rose told him "Daleks." She added, seeing his _are you mad???!!!_ face.

"We'll come with you." Martha said.

"Double date." The Doctor chipped in. He meant it jokingly, but Martha flushed slightly. He gave a fleeting questioning glance, before dismissing her and Mickey's strange behaviour, and deciding to get on with the job in hand. The little group of four carried on towards the heart of London (Is canary wharf in the middle of London? I don't live there, so therefore don't kill me if I'm wrong), quieter than before. As the misty outline of the huge building loomed, the enormity of the task settled upon everyone, and their small talk dwindled into silence.

Rose led the way as they made their way through the front doors. It was a bit blatant, doing it this way, but no one could think of an alternative. Until Mickey spoke up.

"We could always use that underground passage – you know the one Rose – that no one's supposed to know about," he looked at the Doctor, almost as if he were expecting to be told it was stupid, or it wouldn't work anyway. He was surprised to see him beaming at him.

"Mickey, I love you!" he said, grinning, and restraining himself from hugging him – he looked shocked enough already. "Why didn't anyone else think of that? _Fantastic!_" Almost laughing at the simplicity of it, and marvelling at how no one had thought of that before, the Doctor took the lead.

The path began, ever so gradually, to slope downwards. The people bustling around them hadn't noticed, nor would they ever, but the Doctor's little group did. It also became colder, and it wasn't long before Rose had spotted the concealed door, hidden so very carefully in the brickwork, that it was a wonder she had seen it at all. After a quick glance up and down the street, their little party filed through the opening, and Mickey shut the door behind them with the softest of snaps. He immediately regretted it, for it plunged them all into complete blackness. Gradually, they felt their way along the slimy walls, breathing in mouthfuls of the dank, musty air, listening to the: drip, drip, drip, of water. Rose could dimly see the silhouette of the Doctor a few metres ahead, and could hear Martha's breath behind her. Each footstep she took echoed creepily around the place, bouncing off the walls. Suddenly, the Doctor stopped, and she walked into the back of him.

"Fork," he informed them, for some reason keeping his voice very low. "We're gonna have to split up. There's four different routes – one each. Look for any signs of Daleks, but _do not let them see you._ Meet back here in an hour's time." They all nodded, and headed towards their own pathway. Before she went, Rose went over to the Doctor, and snogged him hard.

"See ya later," she said, and disappeared into the darkness. He watched her go. Once she was out of sight, he too turned, and begun to walk. He didn't see the fleeting kiss Martha gave Mickey, before they both went their separate ways.

The tunnel was filthy. There was very little light, and Rose squinted into the gloom, straining her eyes to see something that might not even be there. Still, she wasn't taking any risks. The last thing she wanted was to be spotted by a Dalek. No. She wanted to do the spotting. For about fifteen minutes she walked, not talking, listening to her own ragged breathing. Silence. Once, crashes made her freeze, and flatten herself against the wall. But nothing came. It was more the lack of anything that was freaking her out. She would have felt more comfortable if she had been surrounded by Daleks. At least she would know what she was fighting. Not knowing what was round the next slimy corner was worse. Suddenly, a grating, metallic voice sliced through the air, followed by a bloodcurdling scream. Rose whirled around, her now sodden hair slapping against her face, but she didn't care.

"Doctor!" she yelled frantically "Martha! Mickey!" there was no reply. There was nothing for it. She turned and sprinted back the way she had come. She found the meeting place easily, but it was less easy to guess which fork the scream had come from. Before she could make a choice, the Doctor came hurtling out of one, grabbed her hand, and they flew down another. Rose's head was pounding – Martha or Mickey? She was pretty sure she could identify that grating EXTERMINATE. She knew it was very, very bad news. Suddenly, the Doctor slowed. They could hear something, a sniffing, sobbing something, just around the corner. They crept around, both soaked to the skin, and shivering, Rose clinging to the Doctor. The sight that met their eyes was heartbreaking. Rose let out a stifled sob, and she could feel the Doctor shaking. Mickey was bent over a limp figure on the floor, sobbing. Neither needed to see her face to tell who it was. Martha Jones was dead.

**I'm sorry, I said it would be upsetting. :'( If it's any consolation, things do get better, but I'm sorry, Martha is definitely dead. Anyway, please review. **


	9. Chapter 10

**YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Double figures! Go me!!!!!**

**Here's the next chapter. Not really what I'd call **_**happy**_** but an improvement on the last one. Just so everyone knows, I now have an idea for a sequel to this story. YAY!!! Enjoy chapter 10.**

Mickey looked up at the Doctor and Rose, his face streaked with tears. Rose felt a surge of sympathy for him, and stumbled blindly towards him through her own tears, and hugged. Mickey seemed only dimly aware of this. She could feel his body shuddering, as his tears soaked through her already sodden shirt. She held him, rocking him like a baby, until he calmed down enough to be even vaguely coherent.

"What happened?" Rose asked, struggling to keep her own voice steady. "I heard a scream."

Mickey nodded, still crying. Then he collected himself, and begun to speak:

"I was walking down the tunnel, same as everyone, no sign of anything. Then I …I heard…" he stopped, unable to carry on.

"The scream," the Doctor continued for him, and Rose saw he was trying not to cry too. She went and hugged him. He was some comfort back; he wrapped his arms around her, and held her close, as though nothing would ever make him let go. "I heard it too," the Doctor said "I just hoped it wasn't one of our lot," he paused. Suddenly, he burst out angrily; "I _hate_ the Daleks! Anyone I'm ever close to, they find a way of separating us. First Rose, now Martha! This is my fault, I should have guessed something like this would happen if I took everyone with me!" He sat down, leaning against the slimy wall. All three of them were inconsolable.

About an hour later, the three arrived back in the TARDIS, Mickey carrying Martha (he had insisted). It was Rose who went in first. Jeod was sprawled on the chair near the controls, reading. He looked up as Rose entered, but did a double take as he saw her tear streaked face.

"Good God what's the matter?" he said, looking concerned "You look like someone's died."

Rose nodded numbly, feeling her eyes sting. Martha had become a good friend for the short time they had known each other. Jeod looked shocked. He opened his mouth to say something else, when the Doctor came in, and then Mickey, still holding Martha's limp form tenderly in his arms. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at them, then turned to Rose.

"You OK?"

"Yeah," she said, trying to smile, although she was obviously not OK at all.

"No you're not," he told her, reaching out and hugging her close. She hugged him back, and the pair stood there, comforting each other, not speaking. Then the Doctor broke the horrible silence.

"She should have listened to her mother," he said, still holding onto Rose, and absent – mindedly stroking her hair, "Mrs Jones; she said I was dangerous. She _told_ her she was gonna get herself killed. How the hell am I gonna tell her? She'll slaughter me!"

"Well it was your fault," Mickey pointed out, trying to keep his shaking voice steady. Rose let go of the Doctor, and rounded on Mickey angrily.

"It was not!"

"Well what did he do to help her? Alright for him, being a _timelord_ and all that, he can't die, can he? Doesn't have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, well I didn't see you rushing to give her CPR or something! You were a fat lot of use!"

Before it could their already very heated discussion could escalate into a row, Jeod decided to intervene.

"Stop it, you two…_stop it,_" he looked at Rose and Mickey, still glaring at each other across the room "It wasn't anyone's fault, it just happened. If a Dalek wants to kill you, you're dead," he looked pointedly at Mickey "Not even a _timelord_."

Jeod immediately started organising everyone. He whisked Mickey off for about fifteen minutes, until they found a room he could spend the night in – he wanted to stay where Martha was, even if she was dead. After than, he made everyone strong, sweet tea, and sat them all round the scrubbed wooden table in the kitchen. From being very antisocial, Jeod had changed into a very fatherly figure around the TARDIS. Rose supposed that in the face of Martha's death, he couldn't really just sit back and pretend he didn't care, because he did. Human or not human, he couldn't let her friends grieve over her with no one to comfort them. Rose, who had felt quite uncomfortable around him when they had first met a few days ago, now felt more or less as at ease with im as she did with Pete. It was funny how Martha's death had brought the rest of them together. And as for Mickey…well she had an idea of what would cheer him up. She didn't know whether or not it would be possible yet – she'd check with the Doctor later. There was still something bothering her, something more urgent than Mickey. There was still the overhanging problem of the Daleks; they needed to get rid of them before anyone else died. The Doctor noticed her anxious face, but he waited until Jeod and Mickey had gone to bed before he enquired further.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Daleks," she replied simply.

"Ah," the Doctor looked slightly anxious at this point, too "Well Rose, that's very simple. We'll suck 'em into the void, like before. Tomorrow."

**Review, people…thanks to everyone who did for my last chapter, much appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 11

**Two tests down, 57 million to go. Yay. (I'm doing my KS3 SATs)Another chapter, anyway! Getting near the end of this story though…ah well I have an idea for another one. Before then, I do have a few more chapters for this one. XD Enjoy 11. **

Rose jerked awake. She wasn't sure what had woken her; the TARDIS was silent, but she was awake alright. Her first thought was _Doctor_, so she rolled off her bed, yawning,, and tapped gently on the door dividing their bedrooms. No answer. She pushed it open. He wasn't there. Oh well. Rose reshut (I made a new word!!!) the door, and wandered down the corridor for breakfast. She could hear voices as she got nearer to the kitchen, and recognised the Doctor's and Jeod's. She went in.

"Morning," she said sleepily to the Doctor, as he looked up, looking shocked. "What?"

"Since when did you get up this early?" he asked

"Why, what time is it?"

"It's 5:30 in the morning!" he told her "I swear you've never got up that early in your life!"

Rose smiled.

"Don't get used to it, it won't happen again," she told him, hugging him as she made her way to the fridge. He grinned at her.

"I don't doubt that for a second," he told her, ducking as she swatted at him.

About half an hour later, Rose was sitting, fully dressed now, next to the Doctor in the middle of the TARDIS, discussing their plans for the day. They had decided not to tell Jackie what they were doing, because she had already nearly lost her daughter that way before, and they both knew she was likely to stop Rose from doing it in any way possible. Besides, as Rose could still get back through the black hole to see her, it wasn't like Jackie was never going to see her again. The Doctor was just marvelling (for about the seventieth time) that Rose Tyler was up at six o clock in the morning, when Jeod wandered back in.

"Theta, I've been thinking. How many of us have been through the void?"

"All of us…that is I presume you have?"

Jeod nodded, and dumped a pile of black handle things beside the Doctor. There were only three.

"We're gonna have to rely on the fact that this _torchwood_ have some spare then," he concluded, leaving the Doctor and Rose more worried than before. They looked at each other, each thinking the same thing: You are NOT being sucked into the void.

Mickey got up at the more sensible time of nine o clock. They had left him, because he looked peaceful, and they all knew he wouldn't look like that for long when he woke up, and Martha's death hit him again. When he did finally haul himself out of bed he looked awful. Rose was so worried about him, it took Mickey a good five minutes to convince her he was ok…although he still didn't think she believed him. But then, he hadn't really expected anyone to believe this, because, truthfully, he was not ok in the slightest. Also, he was not feeling particularly warm towards the Doctor today. He didn't dare tell Rose this; she would be rushing to the Doctor's defence in a moment, she loved him; but the Doctor was not his most favourite person in the world right now. Every girl he ever liked; Rose first, now Martha, met the Doctor and got separated from him. Rose had fallen in love with him, and Martha had done what he said, and consequently _died_. It wasn't fair. He looked moodily over at the Doctor and Rose, hand in hand, smiling at each other, their eyes all dreamy and love struck. Just the sight of it made Mickey want to hurl at the moment. Right now, Mickey felt like banging their heads together, to inflict even a fraction of the pain he was feeling on them. Instead, he consented to grinding his teeth together. But then, thinking about it, he was as angry with Rose as he was with the Doctor. If she had never run into his stupid ship, things might still be ok. She and him would still be together. They would both be normal Londoners; not afraid of running into Daleks around every corner, just normal people. But then Mickey thought of Martha, and if Rose had never run off with the Doctor, he might never have met her…it was all starting to get very mixed up and painful. He sat down very quickly, blinking furiously.

"Martha…"

Rose was looking incredibly concerned about him again. That would make twice in the last ten minutes, and the amount of attention she had been paying him recently, that had to be a record. Before he might have cared. He didn't now. _Martha, Martha, Martha…_ Rose had sat down beside him, but he was only dimly aware of this. His vision went blurry and he pushed her away, unwilling to show how upset he was about Martha. After all he had barely known her five minutes. It felt like they had been together their whole lives. Rose gave up, and went back to the Doctor, and whispered something in his ear. Whatever it was, it must have been good, because he positively beamed at her, and picked her up and spun her round. When he put her down, she said something which looked like: _So you think it'll work?_

Mickey was utterly confused. That was, until the Doctor made his way over to him, Rose eagerly peering over his shoulder. Mickey eyed the pair suspiciously. What were they up to?

"Mickey," the Doctor began "About Martha…"

"Yeah, I know she's dead, no need to rub it in," Mickey said, not bothering to hide his annoyance at the pair of them.

"No, that's not what we were trying to say!" Rose sounded quite upset.

"We have to ask you, Mickey, what did she mean to you?"

"Piss off!"

"I'm serious!" the Doctor was starting to get annoyed, too. Why did Mickey have to be so damned awkward? "I wouldn't ask, but I know a way we can get you two back together again…well it was Rose's idea but…"

"You can get to her? But…"

"She is dead, if that's what you're thinking," the Doctor told him, gently.

"Then how…?"

"Mickey, this is a _time_ machine!" Rose said impatiently, beaming triumphantly at the Doctor, who gave her an equally pleased one back. Mickey looked at the Doctor.

"You could do that for me?"

"Course! Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! First though, Mr Mickey, we have a job to do."

Mickey looked totally non- plussed. Rose gave him an exasperated look, but then started smiling, at the simplicity of whatever it was.

"Mickey, we gotta suck the Daleks into the void again," she told him. He looked at her in alarm.

"No way are you doing that again!" Mickey burst out "Doctor…"

"I've tried," he said "She's coming."

One stomach churning TARDIS ride later, they were standing outside the parallel torchwood, blinking in the sunlight. Jeod had actually consented to come with them on this occasion, but perhaps that was just so he didn't get sucked into the void. They didn't know. Ah well. What was life without the odd mystery? After bluffing their way past the desk girl – the Doctor's famous psychic paper helped, followed closely by his big gob, they were in the lift. Floor 1-2-3… Rose watched the numbers flash past, until her eyes went funny. She closed them instead, and snuggled into the Doctor's warm side; something which was hardly necessary, because they were all jammed so closely together anyway, they could barely breath. Rose could have sworn the lifts had decreased in size since she last used them. When it shuddered to a halt, they all spilled out, glad for a bit of fresh air. There was a single door leading off to what the Doctor had gleefully christened _The Void Room._ Jeod and Mickey raced straight through, eager to get this job over and done with as soon as possible. The Doctor and Rose hung back. They looked at each other.

"Just hold on this time," he said. His voice seemed perfectly steady, but his face gave him away. He was completely terrified of losing her. She smiled.

"Yeah. You too," Rose said, then kissed him. He hadn't been expecting that, but didn't mind in the slightest. He kissed her back with all the passion he possessed, pulling her closer to him, so they were so close, their bodies might've been one. He drank in her flowery scent, her body pressed against his, her warm mouth on his, their tongues flicking over each other; knowing this might be the last time they ever did this, and relishing every moment of it. Finally though, after several minutes, they had to draw apart. Rose looked at him.

"Doctor, whatever happens – whether one of us gets sucked into the void or not, if we're both fine – whatever. I love you, ok. Whatever happens."

It was he who kissed her this time, but it couldn't last long. Jeod came in to hurry them up, and he practically pulled them off each other with an impatient:

"Come _on_!"

The Doctor glared at him.

"You are truly the most unromantic person I have ever met."

Of course, he had to laugh at that. Rose did too, and the Doctor watched her, thinking how beautiful she looked. As they walked through the door, he never took his eyes off her. His Rose.

**Awwww… I was going to do this as one long chapter, but I can't be bothered to write that much now, so they can go into the void in the next one. I hope you like this – you'd better do, I'm supposed to be revising for my SATs as I write this…oops! Review PLEASE!!!!**


	11. Chapter 12

**Another chapter! This story is going really quickly (from my point of view, it probably seems to be taking AGES to you guys). This next chapter has some action in it, although it's the last one that does, after this, it's just fluff. But, oh well. As we all know well, fluff is good XD thanks too all reviewers.**

Rose followed the Doctor and Jeod into the long blindingly white room; a room which did not hold happy memories for either her or the Doctor. The last time she had seen this room was as she hurtled down it at a hundred miles an hour towards the void, screaming the Doctor's nameat the top her lungs. Not an experience she particularly wanted to repeat.

The same kind of things were going through the Doctor's head. He had still not taken his eyes off Rose, and he certainly didn't want to repeat the incident of a few months before. He would have liked to have gone on the same side of the room as Rose, but he had little choice in the matter, as Jeod and Mickey had already organised them (damn them!) and he knew that if he kicked up a fuss, Rose would be insulted that he was suggesting she couldn't look after herself. He wasn't questioning that, just her ability to hold on.

_Stop worrying, and get on with it _the TARDIS told him irritably. _Rose is fine!_

The Doctor unwillingly walked away from Rose, and hooked an arm around the black handle thingy. He looked across at his best friend, and saw that she was looking at him. Their eyes met, and she grinned at him encouragingly. That smile… it made him want to sprint across the room, and snog her again. He resisted the temptation, and beamed back at her. He had a sneaking suspicion that Jeod wouldn't be amused if he kissed her again before they had done this. Parents…

"Ready?" Jeod called out, interrupting the Doctor's thoughts "Ok, go!"

He and Rose heaved the handles upwards, and the Doctor felt the familiar tug, and rush of air as the void opened. He held tightly onto his handle, keeping both eyes on Rose. She seemed to be fine. Not even struggling. Yet. No. Don't think like that, Doctor.

Rose, despite her previous apprehension, found she was rather enjoying it. She felt like she was weightless; her legs were floating up behind her, the wind rushing through her hair. Every so often, she saw a Dalek shped blur, rush past, screeching EXTERMINATE! At the top of it's voice. Then something happened which nearly made her heart stop. Mickey was clinging onto his handle by his fingertips, slipping further and further towards the void. Finally, he could hold on no longer. As he rushed past Rose, she took one arm off her own handle, and managed to find his. She held on for dear life. Mickey's weight, plus the tug from the void, she felt sure was going to pull her away from her hand hold at any second. She held on regardless, keeping the image of the Doctor in her head. If you let go, you'll never see him again, she told herself, retightening her grip. Slowly, painfully, she pulled Mickey back. He was within a few inches of being able to seize the handle again. With enormous effort, she heaved him, and he grabbed hold. But, in the jerk needed to pull him to safety, she let go of the handle. She found herself flying through space. The whole room reverberated with her name, as the Doctor screamed it at the top of his voice. She was totally and utterly terrified. There was no Pete to catch her, and she'd never see the Doctor again. She could feel her face shining with tears, feel herself shaking. Never see him again. Ever. It was that that was scaring her, more even than getting stuck in the void for eternity. It wouldn't be so bad if she had the Doctor. She was still hurtling towards the void, and was going in at any second. Suddenly, she crashed into something, nearly knocking herself out. It was a wall! As she felt herself being carried round it, she scrabbled frantically, trying to hold on. The Doctor saw that, and yelled encouragement at her.

"Hold on!" he yelled, and she saw dimly that he was reaching for the lever to pull it down. She just hoped he made it in time. Holding onto a slippery wall with no nails was not easy – but then again, holding onto a slippery wall with nails isn't particularly easy; not when you've got a force pulling on you that has to be equivalent to if a ten tonne truck was dragging you along the floor. Rose struggled to hold on, she was at the corner. She used the last surge of energy to keep holding on. Then the pull lessned, her eyes rolled into her head, and everything went black.

**Short one, that one. Ah well, more to come, and this should keep you amused for a while anyway. Please review!!! If you love it, review; if you like it review; even if you hate it, REVIEW!!!! I'm not fussy. XD**


	12. Chapter 13

**Right, I think last chapter was very confusing, so if you didn't get it, here's what happened. NO ONE got sucked into the void, although for poor old Rose, it was a very near miss (the Doctor managed to stop the pull **_**just**_** in time) Tired from the effort of holding on, Rose then blacked out. Got it? And so, we continue…**

Rose was dimly aware she was lying down. Everything was dark. She didn't want to open her eyes. Not yet. It was warm and comfortable, and her head hurt like hell. What had happened? She heard a voice saying her name.

"Rose."

"Doctor?" she murmured sleepily, still keeping her eyes shut. Then she opened them. The Doctor's nose was a few centimetres away from her own. When he saw she was awake, he drew back. She wished he hadn't, but didn't complain. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Looking around, she saw that they were in the Doctor's bedroom; which initially surprised her; and that everyone was crowded round her.

"What happened?" she asked, as the Doctor pushed her back into a lying position gently.

"You blacked out as soon as the pull from the void went down," he said, gently nuzzling the top of her head. "Trouble was, none of us could get to you quick enough to catch you before you hit the ground." The Doctor looked a bit guilty at that. "Sorry."

"S'not your fault," she sighed "My _head!_" The Doctor looked very, very worried at that.

"Rose, I'm so sor…"

"Don't you dare apologise!" she told him crossly "You know it wasn't your fault as much as I do!"

"Well alright then," he said, almost whispering now, although he didn't really know why. She tried to sit up again. He was about to push her back down, to refuse to let her out of the bed until she was completely better, when her lips met his, and he was, momentarily, distracted. After a second, he pulled away though.

"Rose…" he said "You can't get round me like that." Rose raised her eyebrows, and kissed him again. He was completely helpless. This time, he didn't even try to resist. He just pulled her closer to him, and kissed her passionately back. When they managed to tear themselves apart, desperate for air, Rose looked at him.

"Thought I could," she said triumphantly. Neither had noticed that Jeod and Mickey had slipped away. The Doctor sat down next to her, and together they leaned against the headboard, murmuring quietly to one another, until Rose fell asleep. He held her in his arms for a while, watching her lay there, listening to her breathing going in and out, tickling his cheeks. He managed to tear his eyes away from her long enough to slide her properly under the covers. In her sleep, Rose snuggled into his side. He lay there next to her, his arm going numb as it was still around her, but he didn't care. Gradually, he fell asleep too, Rose in his arms.

The next morning, Rose felt completely fine. He head was no longer throbbing as it had been before. She was a little surprised to find herself curled up with the Doctor, but wasn't complaining. She glanced sideways at him, and saw that his eyes were open, too.

"Morning, Doctor," she yawned sleepily, flipping over to face him. He smiled at her.

"Morning!" he said brightly, beaming at her "You ok today?"

"Great," she assured him, beaming too. "Good sleep?"

He nodded. She grinned at him, and watched as he went up to the mirror to evaluate how crumpled his suit was (unlike Rose, he was not in pyjamas).

"What do you think?" he asked uncertainly, turning to face her again.

"I think you look…" she began, uncertain to say what she honestly thought – _absolutely drop dead gorgeous, like normal_! "You look fine," she told him. The Doctor looked quite pleased. If Rose said he looked fine, he looked fine. Satisfied, he turned to leave for breakfast.

"Wait there," Rose said suddenly, jumping out of bed, and over to him.

The Doctor wandered down the corridor with a very glazed expression on his face; something do to with the fact that Rose had just snogged him senseless. Jeod noticed this as he sat down to breakfast. He glanced over at him, concerned. He didn't normally look that dazed.

"Are you alright Theta?" he asked his son, leaning across the table to him, and scrutinizing him closely.

"Oh yeah, fine," the Doctor assured him, absent mindedly stirring his cereal around his bowl, still with glazed over eyes. In fact, he was still wearing the same dreamy expression when Rose came in, about ten minutes later. She glanced over at him.

"Hopeless," she said, ruffling his hair, as she went past. This did do one good thing. He came out of his reveree, and jumped up.

"What was that for?" he asked her, coming up behind her, winding both arms round her waist, and picking her up, making her shriek.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped, for he was tickling her now, and she was laughing so hard she was finding it difficult to breath. Eventually, he relented, and set her gently back down on her feet.

"Ok," he said, grinning, and resisting the urge to ruffle her hair as well. He had a feeling if he did that; she would not be remotely amused. As Rose sat down next to him, Mickey came in.

"When are we gonna get round to the _getting-me-and-Martha-back-together-again_ bit?" he asked "Or were you just teasing me?"

"No, no, we weren't teasing you, promise," the Doctor told him firmly "But we have to take Martha's body back to her parents ASAP, top priority, ok. Everything else has to come afterwards. Her family _needs to know;_" he paused. "Heck, is Mrs Jones gonna slap the hell out of me," he said suddenly, looking quite terrified "She's as bad as Jackie, but this time she's gonna be so, so much worse, 'cause at least I never got Rose killed." He looked hopefully at Mickey.

"You can explain!" Mickey said angrily "I'm not telling her you killed her then didn't have the guts to face the consequences! I'm coming with you, not me going alone!"

The Doctor sighed.

"Alright."

Jeod looked around at the group, and made his decision.

"Theta, I'm going to go back to my own ship. She has a mental link with yours, so if you ever need me…" he left the sentence hanging unpleasantly. The Doctor sort of stared at him. Jeod nodded to everyone, smiled at the Doctor, turned on his heel, and left. The Doctor wandered dimly if he'd ever see him again, and then if he'd mind if he didn't. He felt someone's breath on his cheek, and then a hand slipping into his.

"Doctor," she said tentatively "Let's go."

**This chapter's a bit longer than my last few I think. Hope ya all liked it, more to come soon. And as always, review please :D Naomi**


	13. Chapter 14

**Oooh, Mrs Jones is not gonna be pleased when the Doctor brings Martha home dead, is she? I would so not like to be in his shoes right now… Oh yes, and I apologise for the language in this chapter, but Tish is very, very upset.**

The Doctor carried Martha down the busy London street, Mickey by his side. Rose had stayed behind, because she had not wanted Mrs Jones to think the Doctor had killed her daughter, then gone straight off with the nearest young woman he could find. The Doctor had argued for a good 20 minutes before Rose had won. So, he had reluctantly said goodbye, and left with Martha and Mickey. Now he really wished he had insisted, because he could have done with the company, which Mickey was not being a very good source of at the moment. He was skulking along, looking tragic, which was really annoying the Doctor – he wasn't the only person who missed Martha. She may not have been as good a companion as Rose, but she had helped him hadn't she? They had been friends.

They stopped abruptly at the Jones's house. The Doctor had a sudden urge to run in the opposite direction and never look back, and keep running until he had put several light years between himself and Martha's mother. Before he had time to decide whether or not this was such a good idea, Mickey had rapped sharply on the fromt door, leaving the Doctor frantically running explanations through his head, hoping she'd believe him. It was Tish who answered the door. She wearing jeans and a strappy top; very different attire to what he had last seen her in (when I say "last", I mean in The Lazarus Experiment). She took one look at Martha, and screamed.

"Oh my God, Martha!" she turned on the Doctor, as she broke down crying "I thought you'd look after her, you _said…_ but you killed her. Martha, Martha; oh Martha!" she took her sister's body from the Doctor, and cradled her close. "Fuck off!" she said viciously "I never want to see you EVER again!"

She slammed the door in his face. Mickey turned to the Doctor. The Doctor ran off down the High Street. He didn't need to hear Mickey tell him it was his fault, or that he told him something like this would happen. He wanted to be on his own for a while. He headed off in the opposite direction to where the TARDIS was parked, and sat down on a wall. It had just properly sunk in that Martha had died, and he knew Mickey was right, Tish was right. He had killed her.

Rose was not remotely happy with Mickey's vague _He'll be fine_. She couldn't sit still. She paced up and down the control room, looked out of the TARDIS door, sat back down, got up again. It was driving Mickey insane. Eventually, she grabbed her coat, and went to look for him, before he did something stupid. It was pouring with rain. Rose had no idea where he might be. Torchwood? The Powell estate? They seemed the two most likely candidates, so she stepped into the street, and began to walk.

The Doctor sat on his wall, thinking. His hair was plastered to his head with the rain, and water was pouring down his face, mingled with a few tears. They should have stcuck together, maybe they wouldn't've attacked her if he'd been there… The wind howled around him, and he shivered with cold as it cut into him like icy knives. Then he heard someone calling, screaming against the howl of wind.

"Doctor! Doctor! DOCTOR!!!!!!"

It was Rose. She was running down the road towards him, soaked through, her hair slapping the sides of her face as she sprinted towards him. He stood up. Much as he had wanted to be alone, he was glad she had cared enough to come after him. She squelched to a halt in front of him, and hugged him, hard.

"Oh Doctor, Mickey said you'd wandered off somewhere and…well I couldn't leave you out here like this. Doctor, what's the matter?"

He looked at her.

"I killed her, Rose. It was my fault, my stupid, stupid, fault."

"Stop trying to take the blame for everything!" Rose said angrily. "Here – I brought your coat."

"But…"

"No buts."

"If we'd stuck together…"

"Wasn't you fault."

"I said…"

"You said we had to split up, yes. But everyone else agreed, didn't they? No one said, _no Doctor we'll stick together_ did they? No. Now move; I'm freezing." She took his hand, and hauled him down the street. He stopped, and looked at her.

"Alright, it wasn't my fault," he said.

"Good," Rose said "That's much more like it." She kissed him. "Now MOVE before we both die of hyperthermia!"

They ran down the road together, hands linked, just like old times.

**Two chapters in one day, PLUS a whole new story. That's not bad going!!!!!! Review as always people, and thanks to all those who have. XD**


	14. Chapter 15

**ANOTHER chapter of this never ending story! Well, it does have an ending, but me being me keeps getting distracted on little side plots :) I'll get there one day – in the far off future. I quite like this chapter…**_**if **_**it goes to plan it should tie up loose ends that need tying up, and then we'll just need the end. If I get sidetracked onto another idea, it could be a while. Anyway, chapter 15…**

When the Doctor and Rose returned, they both looked like they had just _swum _across London, not walked. The Doctor immediately ran off to get towels, and he and Rose sank onto the chairs next to the console. He wrapped one of them around Rose, and left his arms around her, holding her close. He could feel her still shivering badly, and wrapped his towel round her too.

"You'll freeze," Rose told him gently, stroking his cheek fondly.

"I'll survive," he assured her, as she snuggled happily into his side. He kissed her on top of the head. Mickey, feeling forgotten, and eager for them to remember their promise re: him and Martha, cleared his throat, bringing them back down to earth.

"Um…about…"

"You and Miss Jones. Yes. Yes, yes, yes yes. Weeell, me and Rose are kinda wet at the moment, but…well once we've dried off a bit…"

"We can go, right? Finally…"

"Pack a bag, Rickey. Three years is quite a long time."

"I'll have three years?"

"Yeah!"

"Brilliant!" Mickey said, sprinting out of the room to grab some things. Rose glanced at the Doctor, grinning.

"He forgot to tell you off for calling him Rickey," she observed.

"So he did," the Doctor agreed, slipping a hand underneath the towels, and her shirt, onto her bare skin. She breathed in sharply, and looked up at him in surprise. He smiled at her, and she noticed how close they were. Their faces were only a few inches apart. Instinctively, they closed the gap, and their lips met gently. Gradually, the kiss deepened, and the pair clung to each other like the other was going to disappear at any moment. The Doctor slowly pulled away.

"What would I do without you?" he murmured softly. He leaned in for another kiss, but it was cut short by the arrival of Mickey, complete with bulging bag.

"I thought you two were getting dry," Mickey said, noting the definite wetness of the pair, and frowning.

"Ah – yes! Getting dry. We're just off to do that now!" the Doctor said brightly, dragging Rose with him out of the room. He could here them shrieking as they went down the corridor, and mimed throwing up. They were getting on his nerves.

The Doctor and Rose arrived back in the console room about half an hour later, where Mickey was getting impatient. He didn't bother even asking about what had delayed them. He was hopping from foot to foot, chewing his bottom lip.

"Come _on_!" he urged, as the Doctor and Rose walked slowly into the room, hands linked, staring into each other's eyes. They just didn't seem to grasp the urgency of the situation, he thought, as the Doctor walked calmly over to the console, apparently oblivious to Mickey's agitation. He casually tapped in some coordinates, and Mickey could have sworn he was taking doubly long just to torture him. Rose was leaning over his shoulder, her arms wound around his neck, whispering something in his ear. Whatever it was, it made him smile, and he twisted round to kiss her gently. Mickey was one step away from throwing a huge temper tantrum, pinning the Doctor against the wall, and FORCING him to take him back **now**, when the TARDIS lurched into life. Rose clung onto the Doctor, but Mickey was thrown against the wall. He picked himself up, and grabbed hold of one of the huge pillars. The TARDIS swayed from side to side, and one particularly ferocious lurch caused the Doctor and Rose to fall in a tangled heap on the floor. They picked themselves up just as the sip juddered to a halt. The Doctor bounded over to the door, and held it open.

"Here we are!" he said "London, 2005, just outside the Jones's residence. Party on, unless I'm very much mistaken. Yes – good god, is that all her family ever does? Throw parties?" he glanced at Mickey, who was looking nervous. "What? Changed your mind?"

"No. No, it's just…what if we don't click or something; and I'm stuck in London for three years before you guys come pick me up?"

"It's ok," the Doctor told him seriously "Martha mentioned to me her boyfriend called Mickey once. I didn't really take it in 'cause Jack had just asked me where Rose was, and I was a bit upset. You'll be fine."

Mickey nodded. Rose stepped forward.

"I'll come with you."

"WHAT????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the Doctor yelled in protest "Rose!"

"I meant I'll go with him, check he's ok, and come right back to you. I'm not abandoning you for three years," she ruffled his hair "Daft git."

"Oh," the Doctor said, feeling foolish for his moment of panic. "Right."

Rose kissed him.

"See you in five minutes," she smiled, and disappeared from view. The Doctor wiped a hand over his forehead. For a moment he had been very very worried. He thought he had been wrong about everything – that Rose loved him; that she cared about him; that she actually _liked_ having him around. Stupid as it sounded to admit it, that simple sentence had scared him. But then, he thought, Rose would never abandon him for three years voluntarily. Never ever, ever.

Rose watched, as Mickey walked up to Martha, and engaged her in conversation.

"Hello," he said, tentatively.

"Ooooh, hello!" she replied, eyeing him up and down, and smiling. Rose smiled too. Mickey would have no problem whatsoever getting Martha to like him. She turned, and went back to her Doctor.


	15. Chapter 16

**Which, stupid, stupid person invented homework? And Geography?!!!! Whoever it was, I'm gonna kill 'em!!!**

**Oh yeah, re: chapter 15, I just had to give Mickey a happy ending. He's always the one left out, or pushed aside, and the poor kid needs something to go right for him. And I like Martha and Mickey as a couple, they're quite cute together. I do realise there are a few complications – mainly because this means that there are gonna be two Mickey's wandering around London at the same time – but at least he's happy.**

**I am pleased, because this chapter is the first one with JUST the Doctor and Rose in! Whey!!!! dances**

It had been three weeks since they had dropped Mickey off, and for the Doctor and Rose, it was bliss. They had almost forgotten how good it was for it to just be them – no parents, friends, friend's friends, murderous aliens…you get the picture. There was no one to bully them into waking up at unearthly times in the morning, no one to frown upon them if they happened to meet in the corridor and snog each other senseless (which in the absence of Jeod and Mickey, they were making quite a habit of). Right now, the Doctor was sitting in his room, when he heard someone tapping on it.

"Hey, Rose," he said softly as she poked her head around the door, her hair still damp from the shower. She walked in, and sat down on the bed next to him. He pulled her onto his lap, and kissed her. When they broke it, she was looking at him intently. He could tell she was just bursting to tell him something.

"What is it?" he asked, stroking her cheek.

"How do you _do_ that?" she said, laughing "You always know when I wanna tell you something!"

"I know you too well," he told her smugly, pulling her closer to him so they were almost nose to nose. Rose felt her heart skip a few beats. "Go on," he prompted, smiling.

"Ok. See, thing is-"

"Yes…"

"I'm pregnant."

The Doctor beamed at her, and closed the (very small) gap between them, kissing her again. She felt him groan as she deepened the kiss, running her tongue over his, around his mouth. The Doctor did the same. _She's having my child! _he thought, and if he could have, he would have beamed, though this is kind of difficult to do if you're snogging someone. When she drew away, she smiled at him.

"Pleased?" she asked innocently

"Oh YES!!!!!" he replied happily, still beaming at her "Very much so." He hugged her tightly.

"Come on," said Rose, after a while.

"Why, what's the rush?"

"Lunch," she told him "I'm _starving_!" And she led him through to the kitchen to eat.

Of course, as Rose got bigger, and therefore found it more difficult to get around, the Doctor and hers adventures got fewer and further between. Nevertheless, in the nine months before their child was due to be born, they saved the earth from no less than _seven_ different species of alien, all intent on blowing it up and using the ruminants for fuel, or simply feeding the humans to their overgrown offspring. The Doctor managed to become mortal enemies with a normally peaceful race called the Jacklabxs, when he accidentally tripped over one of their most prized possessions – a huge emerald carrot – and left a muddy footprint on it. Rose was laughing about this for days, and it was only when the Doctor suggested that perhaps she would like to go back and see how funny it was to have razor sharp teeth plunged into your ankle, when she relented. All in all, life was not much different to how it had been before, and very good.

"You know what?" Rose said, wincing as the baby kicked particularly hard (the Doctor was tinkering with the TARDIS, and she was sitting on the chair near the console).

"What?" came his muffled reply, and he appeared a moment later, with thick cables draped over him like a sash, and a mouthful of nails. Rose had to bite her lip to stop herself laughing, he looked so _funny_.

"It's just…if someone had told me like, a few years ago, that I'd be travelling around time and space, with a 900 year old alien, and we'd be like – you know, together; well I wouldn't have believed them..." she paused "You nearly done down there?"

"Yep," he announced, spitting out the nails so they pinged in all directions. He shrugged the cables off, and came to sit next to her "You alright?"

"Yup," she said cheerfully, snuggling into his side "Little un's kicking hard today though."

The Doctor put an arm round her, stroking her cheek as he often did now, and kissing her gently on top of the head.

"You'll live."

"Have to, won't I?" she smiled up at him, eyes sparkling.

"Yes," he told her firmly, trying not to think about the time when she would eventually die, when they would be separated forever. Just the thought of never seeing her again, of losing her forever. Never seeing those sparkling eyes laughing at him, never hearing her voice, never ever holding her again…the Doctor found his eyes were wet, and he hastily wiped them with the back of a shaking hand.

"Doctor?" Rose said uncertainly, looking at him in concern. "What is it?"

He didn't answer at once, and when he did, he had to fight to keep his voice steady.

"Oh Rose," he said "What am I gonna do without you?"

She knew what he meant. She couldn't answer him, just held him to her, comforting him as best she could, as he shook with grief.

**I keep putting sad bits in:'( I promise next chapter will be happy all the way through though…hopefully!!! Please review as always, I always read all of them :D**


	16. Chapter 17

**I like this one :D**

At 12:01am, 25th December 2008, Zoë Caitlyn Tyler was born. She was perfect in every way. She had large dark brown eyes like both of her parents, and right now she was staring innocently up at them, blinking. She was completely quiet. She had a mop of dark brown hair on her head, like the Doctor's, but darker. Her little hands were clasped tightly around the cord dangling from Rose's top. She closed her eyes gently, tired. Rose shifted her in her arms into a more comfortable position. Zoë snuggled into her, and fell asleep. It was then that the Doctor spoke. He had his arm around Rose, and she was leaning against him, exhausted, but very, very happy.

"Think Zoë's got the right idea," he said gently (it was now gone one in the morning) "You look knackered."

"M'alright."

"C'mon Rose. I'll hold her, you get some rest."

"Okay, then," Rose said gratefully, handing their little girl to him, and laying down. She watched out of half closed eyes as the Doctor rocked Zoë gently, then placed her equally as delicately into her cot. Zoë turned over in her sleep, making soft little mumbling noises. The Doctor watched her for a while, and when he turned back to Rose, she had fallen asleep, too. They both looked so beautiful. He brushed a stray bit of fair hair off Rose's face, then joined her, finding he was just as tired, and falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. The TARDIS was soon full of soft breathing, as the new little family slept.

About eight hours later, Rose woke up, feeling much better. She crept out of bed (the Doctor was still dead to the world, and went to check on Zoë. She was still fast asleep, like her father. Rose left them to it, and made her way to the kitchen, thinking of getting breakfast, and maybe phoning her mum to wish her Merry Christmas. The Doctor and her were planning to visit her later, with Zoë of course, but Rose wanted Zoë to remain a surprise. Absent mindedly, she tapped in Jackie's number, and waited, yawning, for her mother to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi mum, it's Rose."

"Rose! Pete said you and the Doctor were trying that void thingy again – I was so _worried_! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Rose assured her, "Merry Christmas, by the way."

"And you, we're having a party later, are you two coming over?"

_Three;_ Rose corrected her silently in her head.

"Rose?"

"Oh yeah…um what's it's gonna be like?"

"Party like. Oh Rose, sweetheart, you can be so silly sometimes."

"No, I mean, it's not gonna be too loud, is it?"

"Why?"

"Headache," Rose invented – she wasn't feeling particularly creative.

"Well no, not really," Jackie told her "Couple of friends round, few drinks…you know."

"Okay then, see ya."

"Bye!"

The phone went dead. Rose idly put it back in her pocket, and wandered back to their bedroom. She wondered vaguely if the Doctor was up yet.

He was. As she walked in, he picked her up, and gave her a huge hug. She grinned at him.

"Hello," she said, giving him that trademark _Rose_ smile, tongue darting between her teeth.

"Morning," he replied, closing the gap between them. Their lips met, and he kissed her gently. She returned the kiss, but before either could deepen it, Zoë awoke. She begun to cry, and Rose broke away from the Doctor, and scooped her up in her arms. Zoë smiled at her, big puppy eyes gazing imploringly up at her. Rose smiled.

"I know what you're after," she grinned.

After she had been fed, Zoë was much happier. She giggled as the Doctor tipped cereal all over the table in his haste to get to the bananas. He stood it back upright quickly, and stretched a hand toward the fruit bowl. Zoë reached out one little arm to tip the box back over. She couldn't reach, but it made her giggle harder.

"You're teaching our daughter bad table manners," Rose told him, hastily pushing her tea out of the way, as Zoë reached for that, too. They really were going to have their hands full with this little tyke.

Rose clutched Zoë tightly to her chest as the TARDIS lurched into motion. The TARDIS was trying to be smoother than normal, but going through a black hole was always going to be jerky, no matter how hard she tried. One particularly violent lurch nearly sent Rose and Zoë across the room, but the Doctor seized her around the waist to stop her falling. Rose smiled at him gratefully. Zoë wasn't happy; she wasn't enjoying this bumpy ride, and was positively howling, but there was nothing either could do to help her except tell her it would all be over soon. At last, it all stopped. Zoë stopped crying, hiccupped once, and looked around. She made a cheerful noise, and wriggled happily in Rose's arms.

"C'mon," Rose said to her "Let's go visit my mum." Rose turned to the Doctor "Hey – she's gonna be a grandma!"

He chuckled, and followed Rose's lead down the street. It had turned out to be one of those rare white Christmases, and it was beautiful. The roads were barely touched, and fresh snow was already falling, filling in the hurried footprints of the odd pedestrian. The Doctor, Rose, and Zoë wandered through it all, the Doctor and Rose's hands linked, looking at the scene.

"Look, Zo, it's snowing," Rose told the little baby in her arms. Zoë gurgled appreciatatively. Eventually, shivering and covered in snow, the three reached the Tyler's house. Rose smiled at the Doctor. He quickly kissed her, knowing he probably wouldn't get much of a chance when they were under Jackie's gaze.

"Ready?" Rose whispered. He nodded. Rose raised a hand, and rung the doorbell. She heard the sound reverberating down the hallway, then voices. She could hear Pete's voice.

"You get it Jacks, I'll sort this lot out."

Then there were the sound of footsteps, the key turned in the lock, and the door was flung open.

"Hello!" Rose said, beaming at her mother. She looked down at the baby in her arms, who had turned her gaze upon Jackie with great interest. "This is Zoë," she added, seeing her mum looking at her. "She's our…"

"…daughter." Jackie finished "Rose, Doctor, she's beautiful! Congratulations!"

Rose beamed at the Doctor behind her, who grinned straight back. She turned back to her mother.

"Thanks."

"Come on in, then," Jackie said, holding the door wider for them to pass. They walked in, Zoë beginning to drop off again, tired after their walk. It was hard to believe that she was only a few hours old; to the Doctor and Rose, it felt as though they had had her all their lives. After a while, milling around and talking to various people, introducing Zoë and explaining countless times how they had met (well they said they had met in a shop, which was true, although they didn't include the murderous dummies bit, and the Doctor blowing up the shop in question). Jackie took Zoë for a bit, so that the Doctor and Rose got a bit of time without being pestered by every person in the room, and had a bit of time to themselves – this is the problem when you have a new baby – everyone wants to talk to you in person. Rose watched as Jackie held Zoë to her, who had happily found a strand of her hair to cling onto, and was pulling it happily. Rose smiled, and turned to the Doctor.

"I love being a parent," she told him simply

"Me too," he beamed. He leaned down to kiss her gently. She returned it more passionately, running her tongue round and round his mouth. She had to cling onto him to stay upright, and the kiss wasn't really fit for public consumption – it was a bit wet and messy – but they both needed it just then. Jackie looked over at the pair of them, kissing in their corner. For the first time in her life, she was actually glad that he had met her that day in the shop. If he hadn't Rose would still be stuck in her dead end job, she would still be living with her single mum – her. Thanks to the Doctor, so many things had changed for the better. He still wasn't, perhaps, her most favourite person on earth, but Rose loved him, and that was good enough for her. As the couple fought their way back towards her, Jackie hugged Zoë tight.

"You take care of them, Zoë," she whispered to the little baby curled up in her arms. Zoë gurgled happily, and turned over. Jackie took that to mean: _of course I will._

THE END

**I can't believe I finished it so soon!!!! I'm pleased with it, and hope you all enjoyed it. A sequel is coming soon, so watch this space! Please tell me what you think. :D Naomi**


End file.
